The Belgian team, consisting of Olivier Philippaerts (H&M Extra), Niels Bruynseels (Jenson van't Meulenhof), Jérôme Guery (Quel Homme de Hus) and Grégory Wathelet (MJT Nevados S) brought home the silver medal from the Nations Cup Final last Sunday. Belgium was on its way to keep their title, but a little misunderstanding in the end gave them 1 fence down. Ireland took gold, Sweden completed the stage with a 3rd place.
The Belgian riders are really strong at the moment. One and a half month ago, they made history with their gold medal-winning performance in Rotterdam to take Belgium's first ever European team showjumping medal and so ensuring themselves from a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Belgium won the Nations Cup twice, once in 2018 and once last year in 2018.
Olivier and H&M Extra can write big part of Belgium’s success last weekend to their names. They were the first Belgians to start on Thursday as well as on Sunday and rode two times an incredible double clear round. “We came to Barcelona as a team, to try to conclude this superseason with a victory.”, says Olivier. “We had a great kick-off, taking the lead. H&M Extra and I started with a clear round. Niels got one fence down, but Jérôme Guery and Grégory Wathelet finished clear as well. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication between the horse and rider, and so they got 4 penalties. At first, we were disappointed because we lost the golden medal. But those feelings changed immediately in happiness for our silver medal. The Nations Cup is a very high level championship, and we left behind some important countries like Sweden, Germany and Suisse. Now we’re looking forward to 2020, the year of the Olympic Games.”.
Olivier really got a top horse with H&M Extra. “During the past competitions, H&M Extra always proved herself at the right moment. A double clear round in Calgary, now a double clear again in Barcelona. If you can achieve this high at this level, you are a top horse. It’s a one in a million horse on which you can always count as a rider. I’m extremely happy with this amazing horse!”.
The team that took silver in Barcelona is only half of the team that became European Champion. It were Pieter Devos (Claire), Jos Verlooy (Igor), Jérôme Guéry (Quel Homme) and Gregory Wathelet (Nevados) that made history in Rotterdam. That proves that Belgian riders have a lot to offer. Nicola had to give up on the European Championships and the Nations Cup because of a shoulder injury.
Thibault and Anthony inspired their big brother to ride a double clear round, as they set the example last week during the Youth Nations Cup.
